


Better Than They Grew Up With

by MagalaBee



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Golden Deer Route, Post-Canon, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), The Great Fodlan Bakeoff, non-azure moon route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagalaBee/pseuds/MagalaBee
Summary: Felix could tell that Ingrid was keeping secrets by the way she fidgeted.Entry for The Great Fodlan Bakeoff!
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Ingrid Brandl Galatea
Kudos: 42
Collections: Fire emblem





	Better Than They Grew Up With

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for the Gret Fodlan Bakeoff! This fun writing challenge presented writers with 2 days to create a fic with the following prompt themes: Exploration, Secret, Ambition, and Devotion. I had to think about it for a minute, but I wanted to try coming back to Feligrid, a ship I truly do love.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this little moment of non-AZ epilogue for them, and I appreciate your patience in advance for your patience with any spelling or grammar errors. Given the short time frame to write and post, there's been no time for an in-depth edit ;w;

“You’re hiding something from me,” Felix said, his voice stern but not accusatory. He watched her with a frown, but after so many years, it was an expression that Ingrid knew well.

He was worried about her.

Ingrid sighed as she tied up her bedroll for the day. Morning sunlight streamed through the canvas of their shared tent. It was a small thing, but enough for them. Covered in patches and stitch lines from so long on the road.

That was why Felix was so worried about her. They only had each other out here, ever since the war had ended. When Felix had told her and Sylvain that he planned to leave Faerghus entirely, it was Ingrid who asked to go with him. They had all sided with Leicester. Her dreams of knighthood were long gone by now. Dead alongside their once friend and prince.

She had no ambitions when she set out on the road with Felix. She’d only wanted to find purpose again and stay near him. Felix never did well when he was alone. No matter how much he claimed to hate human company, he needed to be near someone. He needed not to be alone.

“What makes you think I’m hiding something?” Ingrid asked. She glanced at him with a weak attempt at a normal smile. His frown deepened, putting a deep crease between his brows. Ingrid felt the urge to reach out and smooth his frown away. To run her fingers over his cheeks and kiss his forehead until he let go of the tension.

But he was right, she was hiding something, and it wasn’t right for her to distract Felix with affection. They’d kissed enough the night before, among other things.

Ingrid sat up, straightening her back as she faced Felix. He was knelt by the rest of their pack, weapons behind him and a snuffed lantern beside him. His hair was a bit disheveled, but he had tied it back up in his usual messy bun.

“Your hands,” he said, looking down at them. As she sat, finished tying the knots, her fingers had begun to fidget together. Without Ingrid even noticing, she had been worrying at the skin on her thumbs, pinching them with her forefingers until each side was puckered and pink. Once Felix mentioned it, she flexed out each hand.

“What about them?”

“You get all twitchy when something’s on your mind,” Felix grunted. “You’ve been this wak for two weeks, but you haven’t said anything. You would have talked to me by now.”

If Ingrid wasn’t feeling so guilty, she would have been touched by the way he watched her habits. Felix was more observant than most people gave him credit for, and since their journey began, he had been memorizing every piece of her.

Ingrid’s cheeks flushed and she flattened her palms against her thighs. 

“It’s… not what you think.”

“Are you sick?” Felix asked, his voice ever so slightly tinged with urgency. “Did an injury not heal right?”

There were few secrets one could keep in the life they led. Traveling mercenaries, childhood friends, lovers, walking side-by-side and sleeping in the same bedroll. She could understand his worry for her health, it was probably the only kind of secret Ingrid could actually hide from him. She had always been good at pretending to be ok.

“I’m not sick, I’m not hurt,” Ingrid assured him, but her voice was quiet. She hesitated. This was the thing she didn’t know how to say. Hadn’t known how to say for a while. 

They lived a life of uncertainty and exploration. Visiting each corner of Fodlan, providing protection where they could, but never tying themselves down. It had helped both of them find a sense of purpose after the war. When they helped a small village chase off a pack of wolves, or saved fellow travelers from highwaymen on the roads, Ingrid and Felix felt like maybe it had all been worth something. 

But their life didn’t account for this.

So it took her a moment to gather her words and her courage.

“I’m pregnant,” Ingrid told him, green eyes flickering down to stare at her knees.

For a long moment they were both silent. Ingrid could feel his eyes on her, staring. Felix’s eyes were intense things. Fiery amber boring into the objects of his attention at any given time. She had gotten so used to seeing him look at her with interest and silent love lately that she feared looking up now.

What if those beautiful eyes were full of dread or disgust? It wasn’t like they had ever talked about children. They used protection, things weren’t supposed to happen like this.

The silence stretched on too long and Ingrid finally looked up. Felix was staring at her, but she didn’t see any disappointment or disdain. He didn’t look sorry or resentful.

He looked amazed. A bit worried, but not entirely unhappy. Just… shocked.

“Really?” he asked, his voice had dropped to a whisper. “You’re… you’re sure?”

Ingrid bit her bottom lip before she nodded and replied, “I haven’t bled in two months. I think it was just… my being irregular, but…”

Felix nodded and gulped. He briefly looked down at the short gap between their bent legs. Something in him didn’t like that, and he moved closer to her, placing a hand on her cheek to then look deeply into her worried green eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know how,” Ingrid admitted. “We haven’t even talked about marriage, and… I was scared you wouldn’t want this.”

Felix frowned softer now, his calloused thumb brushing over her cheek. “Ingrid… did you think I would leave you?”

It wasn’t a thought she had ever allowed herself to articulate in her heart, but the fear had been there all the same. She couldn’t keep traveling when she was far enough along. And they couldn’t very well haul a baby around through the wilderness. 

“I was ready to stay behind,” she whispered. “In one of the next towns… One with a decent doctor. I don’t want to be a burden on you, Felix. I’m not trying to force this on you, I know it isn’t the life you had pl--”

Ingrid’s words stopped at her tongue when Felix kissed her. Her eyes fell shut and she leaned forward into it. They’d been together for a few years now, but every kiss still felt like their first. 

She never wanted that to change.

Pulling away, Felix muttered, “I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t care what kind of life we have now. You… you’re more important to me than wandering through the woods, Ingrid.”

Her chest tightened in her chest. “You’re sure?”

“You’re going to have to try harder to get rid of me than that, Galatea.”

Ingrid sputtered out a nervous little laugh then kissed him quickly again. “Gods, you’re impossible… I love you.”

“I know. I love you too,” Felix sighed. “Just… try not to worry anymore, alright? This will be fine.”

“Right… we’ll just make our own little family,” she agreed quietly.

“Better than we grew up with.”


End file.
